Death toll rises as flooding spreads to new communities

Homes along Lakewood Country Club west of Beltway 8 are inundated with water from the overflowing Buffalo Bayou on Saturday. Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a new mandatory evacuation order Saturday for homes with water in them south of Interstate 10, north of Briar Forest, east of Highway 6 and west of Gessner Road. less

Homes along Lakewood Country Club west of Beltway 8 are inundated with water from the overflowing Buffalo Bayou on Saturday. Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a new mandatory evacuation order Saturday for homes ... more

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer

Death toll rises as flooding spreads to new communities

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In the week since Hurricane Harvey dumped 51 inches of rain on Houston, sunny skies and the return of the Astros on Saturday didn't hide the reality of a region still reeling.

More than 500,000 people have applied for federal aid. The death toll surged past 50. Flooding spread to new communities in Brazoria County. And hundreds of homeowners faced new evacuation orders in Houston as flooding continued.

President Donald Trump praised Houston's resilience and hard work by the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a quick visit in his role as "comforter-in-chief."

But problems dogged the region. In Crosby, east of Houston, residents awaited continued explosions at the waterlogged Arkema plant, where three trailers of volatile chemicals already had sent flames and roiling black smoke shooting up into the air.

And school officials across the region discovered extensive damage to campuses, raising further questions about when the academic year would begin - and where - for tens of thousands of students.

"We'll be at this in some form or another, probably up until the New Year, because there are so many people who need help," said Aaron Hall, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as he and others helped families in the Braeswood Place neighborhood.

As the adrenaline ebbed away after a week of chaos, the long wait finally began for many in the Houston area - for floodwaters to recede, for insurance adjustors to arrive, for emergency housing, for missing relatives to be found.

Late Saturday, Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a mandatory evacuation order for 300 people in flooded parts of west Houston, where 4,000 homes and apartments have remained mired in floodwaters from continuing releases from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.

Power will be shut off to the homes at 7 a.m. Sunday to protect residents and first responders.

"The situation of the release of water from the reservoir is not going to change in the next 10 days," Turner said. "Think of the first responders."

In Beaumont, residents went another day without water and officials reported an oil spill from the Exxon Mobil refinery after a sheen was detected near the plant.

Waiting for assistance

All day Saturday, volunteers mustered in Dickinson and Cypress, in Kingwood and Clear Creek, in Meyerland and Tasfield to gut homes, feed the stranded and help neighbors displaced by Harvey's wrath.

But even as thousands of Houstonians worked to help their friends and fellow residents clean up and begin the long process of moving forward and recovering, tens of thousands remained stuck across the region, looking for a place to stay or waiting to rebuild.

Laporsha Patt sat on her cot at the George R. Brown Convention Center, hunched over, her eyes glued to her phone.

She, her husband, and her young three children had spent six days in the shelter after Harvey's floods filled their Southside apartment with neck-high water.

She filed her FEMA application as soon as her family arrived at the shelter last week, but no vouchers or even a denial of assistance had come.

A quick look at her phone showed the application still pending.

"Why is it still pending? This is a disaster zone, why make us wait?" she asked, as she sighed and rubbed her temples.

When she asked FEMA officials Friday about her application status, she said an agent told her to fax in her lease.

"Where am I going to get a fax machine?" she asked.

She isn't alone. FEMA reported Saturday it had received more than 507,000 applications for aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and had approved $114.7 million to 161,000 people.

About $33.6 million went for housing assistance, such as paying rent for displaced residents, and $81 million to help replace personal property, pay for transportation and provide medical and dental assistance.

More than 2,500 people sheltering at NRG Stadium got a surprise visit from the president, who served food and chatted with evacuees.

"Its been really nice. It's been a wonderful thing," Trump said. "As tough as this was, it's been a wonderful thing. I think even for the country to watch it, for the world to watch. It's been beautiful."

The mayor said he asked the president Saturday to expedite federal aid for first responders, many of whom lost their homes while they helped Houston residents.

Turner said he also asked for help providing transitional housing, for federal funds to assist in the collection and disposal of storm debris, which Turner estimated could cost $200 million to $300 million.

The financial toll of the storm continued to mount, climbing to more than $100 billion, according to recent estimates. That would make Harvey the second costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

A missing baby

Across the region, however, the death toll continued to rise.

In Houston, officials reported the death of an 8-year-old boy who'd suffered an asthma attack during the flooding. And in northwest Harris County, a 25-year-old man was found floating in Cypress Creek.

North of Houston, Walker County authorities said a 6-month-old baby girl is missing and presumed dead. The child was swept out of her parents' arms last Sunday as they tried to flee from their vehicle, which was trapped in floodwaters along Highway 150 near New Waverly. The family had been headed for Louisiana to try and avoid the storm.

In Port Arthur, authorities said Saturday an 88-year-old woman was found dead in a flooded home, pushing the death toll from Harvey to more than 50.

Low-lying parts of Harris County - particularly near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs - will likely see ongoing flooding as the dams continue to release water - though most of Harvey's floodwaters have traveled downstream.

"It could be two to three weeks before the lowest lying houses are out of water," said Jeff Lindner, meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District.

The district announced it had repaired the breached Inverness Forest levee, and had identified 2,000 cubic yards of material that needed to be removed from bayous. More than 65 locations were identified along the network of bayous that had sustained significant erosion, he said.

Turner asked residents served by the Houston Water Department's West District and Turkey Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in parts of west Houston to conserve resources by not using extra water for showers, baths, laundry, dishes or toilets.

He said the treatment plants had flooded but that the city water remained safe to drink.

Turner said he would reconsider Monday a curfew that has been in place for days, limiting movement from midnight to 5 a.m. He said businesses are concerned about tax dollars lost in bars and restaurants during the curfew.

Flooding continued in other areas, as well. South of Houston in Brazoria County, the swollen Brazos River continued a slow push toward the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to rise to a 32-foot crest by sometime Tuesday morning.

Flooding also spread to a few neighborhoods in northern Lake Jackson and western Richwood, forcing officials to order mandatory evacuations in areas that had previously only seen voluntary evacuation orders.

In west Brazoria County, officials shut down Highway 35, the main road cutting east-west through the county between West Columbia and the Matagorda County line.

Environmental concerns

In Crosby, officials with Arkema Inc. urged residents to stay at least 1.5 miles away from the struggling chemical plant, where volatile chemicals had erupted in previous days after the plant lost its crucial cooling systems in 6 feet of floodwaters.

One day after fires consumed more trailers at the plant east of Houston, officials issued a statement saying they had dispatched a "special team" to provide assistance to those impacted by the chemical fires. No new fires or smoke had been observed, according to the statement.

The chemicals, which explode when the temperature rises, are used to make plastics. Officials said the smoke can be an irritant.

In Beaumont, officials reported an oil spill from the Exxon Mobil refinery. A company spokeswoman said part of the refinery flooded after water surged over a levee at the plant.

The plant reported seeing a sheen to the government on Gulf States Road, which runs between Exxon Mobil and Arkema facilities toward the Neches River.

Exxon Mobil's chemical plant was still dry, she said Saturday.

Air quality monitors also recorded spikes in ozone that environmentalists blamed on shutdowns and restarts by the petrochemical and industrial facilities in the area. They estimated that local plants released more than 2 million pounds of hazardous pollution into the air during shutdowns of petrochemical plants or from damage to industrial facilities.

"The smog levels add to an already difficult time for Houston," said Elena Craft, senior health scientist for Environmental Defense Fund.

Help pouring in

Help continued to pour in, however.

At the Free Indeed Church in northeast Houston, volunteers from as far as San Antonio distributed supplies and food to those taking shelter at the parish and to nearby communities and apartment complexes.

The church opened Friday as the Mission Homestead Shelter and will remain that way for at least the next 60 days to serve those affected by Hurricane Harvey in the Homestead area.

"The first thing we did was make sure that we had room to receive people when they came here," said Jenice Gentry, 41, wife of the pastor. "We decided that we're going to keep the community distribution going as long as we can because we know families are going to need help far along the way. We're in it for the long haul."

Others, meanwhile, rallied to help Virginia Saldivar, the grandmother of the four children who drowned in a van in Greens Bayou.

Belia and Manuel Saldivar, ages 81 and 84, were found in the front seats. The bodies of their four great-grandchildren - ages 16, 14, 8 and 6 - were found in the rear of the van.

A benefit was held Saturday at the Iglesia Cristiana Principe de Paz for the family, drawing more than 100 friends and family.

"We want everyone to know that we're very thankful for all the love and support," Saldivar said. "It's really and truly been overwhelming."

Others wondered what would come next.

Laura Mendenhall and her husband, Rick, in Katy, were living the active lifestyle of golf-loving retirees a week ago, spending their days at the Fairways at Kelliwood in the Cinco Ranch area.

Then their Fort Bend County home filled with 4 feet of water, destroying their furniture and other belongings.

For now, the Mendenhalls are staying with family friends. Last week, they signed a year lease in a nearby apartment complex. They move in next Wednesday.

"I've got a john boat and some friends who are really angels, and I'm going back to the house and try and get more out," said Laura Mendenhall.

After conferring with their insurance agent, the couple decided they would need somewhere else to live for at least six months as they undergo the lengthy process of removing the house from its concrete slab and building a new structure.